Can Marijuana Treat Concussions and Save Football?

After a series of
lawsuits,
the National Football League decided to earmark $100 million to study
head trauma. However, not a single cent has been spent on medical
marijuana research, and that is a shame. At the same time, the hype
around the lawsuits has brought significant attention to the
prevention and treatment of traumatic brain injuries (TBI) in sports.
So, what is the role of marijuana in this story?

What Is Concussion?

First, let us figure out
what a concussion actually is.

A
concussion is a minor traumatic brain injury caused by a blow or bump
to the head. Our brain is made of soft tissue, cushioned by spinal
fluid and encased in the protective shell of the skull. When a
concussion occurs, the impact can jolt the brain. Sometimes, it
literally moves around in the head. Traumatic injuries often cause
damage to the blood vessels, bruising, and injuries to the nerves. As
a result, the brain does not function normally.

Patients
who get concussions may lose equilibrium, fall unconscious,
experience headaches and body pain (the result of inflammation, as
brain cells swell following the trauma); their vision may be
compromised. Tremor and short-term memory loss are also common
companions of a concussion.

How
Can Marijuana Help?

The
anecdotal evidence in favor of CBD—a non-psychoactive marijuana
compound also known as cannabidiol—is persuasive. The available
research on CBD is limited but promising: numerous studies showed
that it could protect brain cells from injury as well as promote cell
growth, offsetting chronic traumatic encephalopathy (brain
degeneration likely caused by repeated head traumas and linked to
depression and suicide). Additionally, CBD is known to have
anti-inflammatory properties and relieve pain. These medical benefits
are especially of interest to the NFL players: first, studies
have shown
that THC and CBD are both effective pain relievers, and second, a
nonaddictive pain reliever is certainly of interest to a league
currently being
sued
by ex-players for negligent and harmful distribution of opiates.

NFL Player Henderson Treats Crohn’s Disease With Weed and May Press League Over Marijuana Policy

The famous offensive lineman for the world-known Buffalo Bills, Seantrel Henderson, is suspended for the second time this season for violating the rules of NFL on drug use. However, Henderson’s case is not a common matter as it concerns the questions of the approach to dealing with pain and the rapidly changing attitudes toward marijuana legalization.

Some
companies recognizing the potential of cannabis are diving into
marijuana research in an attempt to make drugs that would prevent
brain damage from a concussion before it happens.

While
much of the research focused on CBD, preclinical studies showed that
its psychoactive friend, THC, might be helpful as well. In 2014, a
study
by Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in California showed that patients with
traumatic brain injuries who had detectable levels of THC in their
systems at the time of the accident were less likely to die from
brain trauma.

Marijuana
and the NFL

In
the light of that, some university researchers have already set out
to test a marijuana-based drug.

In
2014, Lester Grinspoon, an Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry at
Harvard University, wrote an open
letter to the NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell advising him to
consider allowing marijuana as a treatment for post-concussion
syndrome. He pointed out that although the NFL offered former players
$765 million to settle a lawsuit charging the organization “with
knowingly concealing a link between pro football and traumatic
injury,” this huge figure was nothing in comparison to the human
toll paid in terms of pain and untimely death among players. The
professor urged the NFL to look closer at marijuana and fund research
to determine whether the plant can help.

Can Olympic Athletes Use Marijuana?

While countless agencies around the world look for the way to properly test drivers for marijuana impairment, the Olympics seem to have it under control.

Earlier
this year, the Realm of Care supporters, including an ex-Baltimore
Ravens tackle Eugene Monroe and former NFL quarterback Jake Plummer,
initiated the meeting with the NFL's medics in order to discuss
CBD-based treatment and cannabis testing policies for players. The
NFL Player Association said that both parties to the Policy (the NFL
and the NFL Player Association) sought guidance from the independent
medical professionals who administered the policy, and no change in
the substance's status as a Schedule I drug had been recommended by
those medics. And, of course, no real plan was set forward because of
the collective bargaining agreement listing marijuana among the NFL's
banned substances.

The
NFL and NFLPA have a staunch
policy prohibiting cannabis use. No player can cross the NLF's
allowable limit of 35 nanograms of activated THC per milliliter of
urine. In 2014, the league and the players association agreed to
alter the policy are raise the THC threshold from 15 nanograms to 35
nanograms per milliliter. Players are tested only once in the
offseason, but violators could be subjected to additional random
tests and penalties that range from fines to 1 year of suspension
without pay.

New Runner's High: Can Weed Make You Better Athlete?

In the case of weed, there is plenty of scientific evidence of the potent medicinal properties of this plant: it relieves pain and stress, improves focus, accelerates metabolism, relaxes muscles, and so on.

Besides
the NFL, there is no other professional league where athletes could
get popped for marijuana. For comparison, the Olympics' allowable
limit is 150 ng/ml, and violators face suspensions ranging from 3
months to 1 year.

For
many professional players, pain is a constant companion. The
headaches and body pain that accompany a concussion are the result of
inflammation, as brain cells swell following the trauma. As much as
sportsmen try to avoid painkillers, there are times when they need
the assistance.

Pills
and injections are the norm in professional sports, as well as
long-term concerns. Players have often talked about the unwelcome
side effects, such as depression, lethargy, the risk of opiate
addiction.

A 2011
study by researchers at Washington University in St. Louis found
that more than half of all retired NFL players used opioids during
their career, and 71 percent of them reported abuse. Furthermore,
unlike marijuana, opioids—morphine, oxycodone, heroin—can cause a
fatal overdose.

Certainly, not every player experiences terrible pain, but with the
heightened awareness of the long-term damage football does to the
mind and body, many ex-sportsmen are anxious in searching for
alternative ways to not only treat injuries but also prevent the
onset of additional symptoms.

Former Football Superstar Ricky Williams Promotes Marijuana As Effective Painkiller for NFL Players

​Ricky Williams is on the list of the most recognizable and famous football players in the whole world. In 1998, the running back from the University of Texas won the Heisman Trophy. Ricky Williams is the guy the New Orleans Saints traded for, and the price was really high—they gave up every one of their picks in the NFL draft of 1999 (plus three drafts in 2000). This is considered to be one of the most irrational and infamous draft moves in the whole history of NFL.

Plummer and Monroe, as well as many other NFL players, believe in the
efficacy of CBD as a powerful and safe painkiller and think that the
league players should be allowed to use it. That is why they have
teamed with CW Botanicals and its non-profit partner, the Realm of
Caring, in an effort to raise over $100,000 to fund initial studies
of CBD. CW Botanicals is the Colorado-based company manufacturing a
widely-known hemp extract called Charlotte's Web. It is legally
confirmed that the product has no more than 0.3 percent THC, so the
NFL players can use it with no fear to test positively.

5 Olympians Who Won Gold Medals and Smoked Weed

The International Olympic Committee recently revised their rules on weed testing. Did they change them because they thought marijuana was healthy or because they were tired of withdrawing medals from great sportsmen who smoked pot?

Of course, the best way to ensure any treatment is effective and safe
is to put it through the FDA's drug approval process. Currently, a
few pharmaceutical companies are trying to promote drugs that harness
the neuroprotective properties of CBD. For example, Kannalife is
raising B funding with the goal to launch clinical trials on CBD and
CBD synthetic. GW Chemicals announced positive results in the phase
III clinical trials of Epidiolex, the CBD-based medicine for treating
Dravet syndrome.

Plummer hopes that football players will soon be armed with enough
clinical evidence of the benefits of CBD to initiate a discussion
with the NFL. And he hopes for a real change, a change that will
allow players to choose the safest and most effective treatment for
themselves.

There is an increasing number of patients who report that cannabis has helped them give up their painkiller addiction. Such anecdotal evidence inspires marijuana advocates and intrigues lawmakers who promote cannabis for treating opioid abuse and using it as an alternative to analgetics.

Numerous studies show that hemp oil may be beneficial for cancer patients: it gives them a temporary pain relief, helps reduce nausea and anxiety. Still, we need more cannabis oil cancer research in order to get unquestionable evidence of marijuana's efficiency.

For years, scientists were trying to find a cure for HIV. There is a chance, that they have already found it—in cannabis. According to recent studies, the chemicals compounds in marijuana may reduce pain, prevent the brain from HIV-related damage